No one is surprised that I took so long, right? Yeah, you know how it is, school and work...blah blah blah.

Hope this won't disappoint.

Disclaimer: I own nothing…blah blah blah


It was strange to start being recognized in random places. Sure, when they were teenagers and at the height of their fame, people would stop her all the time for photos or autographs in coffee shops, parking lots, the grocery store, even late night Walmart runs, and she was of course always happy to oblige. However, as their band broke up and the popularity began to deteriorate, those photos and groups of happy preteens stopped. Every once in a while someone would see her and awkwardly try to place her, "Hey, you're that one girl, right?"

"I don't really know what you're talking about—"

"No no no…you were in a…what was that one band…I listened to them all the time when I was younger…"

"Surely you have me mistaken for someone else—"

A snap of the fingers, "Oh I remember now! You were the lead singer of that Lemonade Mouth band!"

A sigh; she was caught, "Oh, yes. I guess I was a part of that band."

"I knew it! Hey, can I get a picture with you? My friends from high school are never going to believe this!"

She would still oblige, albeit a bit more reluctantly, but she still did not want to be rude. At times Olivia thought this was rock bottom. This is what it was like after all of the camera flashes and the tours. To be semi recognized in the parking lot of a bank, just trying to withdraw money like a normal person.

Oh, how the mighty have fallen, she would think.

The blonde wondered if this is what the less popular band mates of *NSYNC felt like this since being cast in Justin Timberlake's shadow, or if this is what The Backstreet Boys felt like after a couple of attempts to make it back into the limelight. It was never a feeling that she relished in; it was like they were all wondering the earth in disarray, never quite knowing where to fit in anymore.

Now, however, they were somehow able to make a miraculous comeback after years of a hiatus. People were starting to see her again when she was doing menial tasks: "Oh, my daughter just loves your band; would you mind signing this for her?" and "Dude, I cannot believe it! You're Olivia White from Lemonade Mouth! I love your new album; I listened to you guys all the time in high school!"

It was nice, to be validated again she supposed, but tonight, well it was not one of her more classy moments.

She was in a bar during one of their seldom nights off, and she just wanted to relax by herself for once. It's not that she didn't love her band mates, it was just the constant company from Stella's natural loudness, Charlie and Mo's annoyingly now closer relationship—she really thought that the two should just bang already, and worst of all Wen's concerned looks. Oh, those looks would kill her. He knew her painstakingly too well, even after all their years apart, he could still read her better than anyone else. It was refreshing to be cared about sure, but when she just wanted a moment of peace or a had a terrible case of not so nice nostalgia, Wen would be able to tell. Sometimes those looks would make her feel downright terrible, especially when it was all too much for her and she just blew him off instead.

Tonight was one of those nights. Wen's concerned countenance was burned in her brain, and all she wanted was a release from it.

Olivia thought she found that release in Tyler; the guy who had constantly been flirting with her and buying her drinks all night. She found that she was shamelessly flirting back. He broad shoulders, shaggy brown hair, and brown eyes with just about the longest eyelashes she had ever seen. The blonde had lost count of what drink she was on when a pretty girl with light brown hair came over and put her arm around her prospect. Great.

"What on earth are you doing Tyler?" The girl asked. Olivia could not tell if the girl's tone was incredulous or not. The room was spinning too much for her to decipher.

"Oh! Hey, I didn't know when you were coming over." Tyler said, almost guiltily? It was too ambiguous.

The girl laughed and sat down on the chair next to Tyler. Olivia had tried to start to think of some kind of excuse or escape route if this girl was Tyler's girlfriend. Guys really should not hit on her if they are taken! Honestly, it was just about the lowest—

"Olivia, this is my twin sister Taylor. I am visiting her in town for now with my parents," he said smiling, turning to her, "and Taylor, this is the beautiful Olivia."

Jesus tap dancing Christ. The girl was his freaking twin. She almost wanted to laugh.

"If I didn't know any better, I would say my little brother is drunk, and hopelessly hitting on this poor girl."

"Hey, you're only a minute older than me!" He stated angrily, his slurred speech really starting to show. It was not like Olivia was much better. She tried to keep her composure while giggling a little.

"Tyler and Taylor?"

Taylor looked a little ashamed while Tyler just kept on smiling, "Yeah, our parents lacked all restraint while naming us. You should hear our middle names."

"Oh, well now you're just going to have to tell her!" Tyler yelled while blushing.

In response Olivia looked at Taylor expectantly while she indulged with a sigh, "Gabriel and Gabrielle."

Olivia couldn't hold back her laughter this time, "Oh that is something else. Real cutsie!"

Taylor just shook her head, "Too cutsie, especially now that we are adults."

Olivia could tell that Taylor wanted to change the subject, so the blonde offered to buy them all shots. The twins obliged after Olivia's persistence. The room was spinning more now with the added alcohol in her system. They laughed together at a stupid Tyler made that Olivia was sure she wouldn't laugh at sober. After the giggles died down, a girl along with another guy came in and sat down beside her. The one nearest to her looked over at her and did a double take.

"Oh my God! Aren't you that girl?"

Olivia blinked a couple times and then shook her head before she responded, "What?"

The girl who caught her attention whispered something into the guy next to her who was presumably her boyfriend before responding, "You totally are! You're the girl from Lemonade Mouth!"

Taylor had a moment of realization and her eyes went big, "You are! I knew you looked familiar, but I just couldn't place it. And to think, my brother hitting on the lead singer! You guys made such good music."

Olivia did not know how to respond to all of this, and quite honestly, it made her feel like she was going to be sick…or that could have been all of the alcohol she consumed. While trying to keep a straight face, she certainly hoped it wasn't obvious.

The girl who first recognized her looked her up and down, "I see you're doing really well for yourself now."

The blonde looked over in horror, "What?"

"I'm just saying that you kind of look like a hot mess. Couldn't you try to have a little bit of class? Here you are in some bar, practically drooling all over yourself. Aren't you supposed to be touring now anyway?"

Before she could even respond with anything, she looked to the twins to see if they could be of any assistance against this girl who decided to make it her business to air Olivia's dirty laundry for her. Both Tyler and Taylor were actively trying to avoid her gaze. Well, clearly they will be of no help. So much for the solidarity she thought she formed with them; what a waste of alcohol she spent on their behalf. She looked back at her accuser, ready for whatever was going to come her way…or about ready as she could be given her current state. The girl looked like she was loaded with something else at the ready to insult Olivia some more, but before she could do that someone shouted her name.

"Olivia!"

She looked over in the direction of her name, wondering who would be looking for her at a time like this. He walked over to the tense group with ease, complete with a look of utter concern etched across his pale, freckled features.

"Oh look, you're boyfriend has come to the rescue. Too bad you can't stay and continue to make an ass of yourself."

Wen looked over at the girl, "Excuse me?"

"Oh nothing, it's just that miss lead singer has practically thrown up all over herself in the past five minutes that I have been here. That doesn't exactly bode well with born again rock stars, now does it?"

Olivia just wanted to hang her head in shame and just leave, but Wen had other ideas, "I do not believe," he stated threateningly, "that anyone was asking you."

Her boyfriend stood up behind her at this and glared at Wen, "Don't bring this upon us just because she was stating the obvious."

Wen almost chuckled ironically, "Oh, you brought it upon yourselves the moment you decided to drop your judgment off on a person who I am sure was just minding her own business, just trying to be a normal person. So what if she has had a few? If she wasn't in a band, you wouldn't have even noticed her, but now just because she may be in a few magazines, you take it upon yourself to think you're better than her? You don't even know her!"

The girl's boyfriend stepped in front of her and had to look up into Wen's eyes. It seemed that height was the one of the only things he had in order to be intimidating, "Do we have a problem here?"

Wen had a terrible Jason flash back and then shook himself out of it; at least he was sober for this skirmish, "Yeah, we do have a problem if you have a problem with Olivia."

He squared his shoulders and stared the shorter man down.

"Wen," the redhead looked over to Olivia who looked completely embarrassed, "can we just go?"

Before this could get out of hand, Wen decided to take action. He took his wallet out, grabbed all of the cash that was in it, and threw it down on the bar. The bartender had walked over to see what the commotion was. Wen nodded at her, "That's for her tab."

He was sure it was probably a big one, so he hoped it was enough. That really was not was important right now, all that mattered was that he got Olivia back to the hotel room safe. He immediately went to his next line of action which was grabbing Olivia by the hand, death glaring the asshole and his girlfriend one last time, and dragging her outside. Before the door closed, he heard the brunette guy who was sitting next to Olivia shout that it was nice to meet her and to call him. It stopped Wen dead in his tracks.

He closed his eyes and took a couple of breaths before he spoke, "Who the fuck was that guy?" That sounded way too jealous boyfriend for his taste, but at this point Wen did not really care.

Olivia looked rather ashamed before answering, "Which one?" she asked as Wen just raised an eyebrow at her and gave her an 'are you serious?' expression, "oh, well I don't know who that other guy was, but the cute brunette was Tyler. He is here visiting his twin sister Taylor with his—"

"Look, it really doesn't matter," he stated as he still tugged her by the hand to the band's rental car, "come on, let's just go."

The car ride was silent. It was a bit awkward as Wen was fuming and gripping onto the steering wheel for dear life it seemed. Olivia broke the quiet first, "Are you mad at me?"

She didn't dare meet his gaze while looking down onto her lap.

"Mad? Am I mad? Olivia, are you serious?" Wen wanted to stare her down before he had to look at the road again. She finally faced him with wet eyes. He was sure that she didn't want them to fall.

"Yeah…well I just thought that you were because I—"

"Olivia, I was scared shitless that something had happened to you! I had no fucking idea where you went off to! You didn't tell any of us were you went, and when I got back from dinner with Lyla, everyone was asking where you were. I had to pretend that I knew where you were so they wouldn't panic like I was!"

She didn't know how to respond. He was so angry because he was worried about her. Well, that was feeling she hadn't known in a while, "I-I…I'm sorry—"

"Oh, you're sorry? You're sorry? You are so lucky that the people at the front desk were able to tell me that you asked them were the good bars were in town; otherwise I wouldn't of had any idea where you were!"

Olivia was too drunk, too upset, and too overwhelmed to deal with this conversation properly. She just wanted to tune him out and die before they got back to the hotel.

When they parked in the hotel parking lot, Olivia did not wait for him to get out of the car before she bolted. Wen had to run to catch up with her. She could barely walk straight alone, but she was too disconcerted to have Wen help her. By the time they got back up to their room, she refused to look into his eyes and ran right to her own room. She thanked God that everyone else was asleep.

The blonde ignored Wen's calls behind her as she slammed the door, sliding down it and finally let out all of the tears that she had been holding in. Unabashed, she began to heave and sob for an amount of time that she could not even keep track of after she heard Wen's voice on the other side of the door.

He leaned on the doorframe and sighed as it crushed him to hear her crying on his behalf, "Olivia? Could I come in?"

There was no answer as he continued to loom and placed his forehead on the cool wood in front of him. He waited a couple of minutes before he spoke again, "Liv, please."

Again, he heard no answer, but he did hear her get off of the floor and walk a few paces. While he wanted to be patient, Wen could not take the agony anymore and tried the doorknob despite his lack of verbal permission. He was pleased to find that it was still unlocked, and after opening the door slowly, he gingerly walked over to Olivia. Wen turned on the lights of the room to find that she was on the bed with her back facing him. He had another quick flashback of the first night they kissed. He certainly hoped this night would end better.

However, before he could begin to apologize for yelling at her, she looked like she passed out, her limp body hitting the bed.

"Oh shit," Wen cursed to himself as he ran to see if she was still conscious. He took her face in both his hands and ungracefully proceeded to slap her face, "Olivia! Olivia! Please! Can you hear me?"

He panicked for a few seconds while her expression did not change. Moments went by as an eternity as he continued to slap before she opened her eyes and blinked a couple times.

For the love of God, Wen could not wipe the grin he had off his face, "Liv…"

She groaned and turned over in his lap; the girl being more drunk than Wen first realized. He didn't think she would say anything before she passed out again, but she surprised him.

"Jesus, Liv, how much did you have to drink?"

"Ugghhh…I thought…I died." She mumbled almost incoherently.

Wen was shocked at her words, "What? Well I thought you did too, but it is a good thing you didn't, right?"

He was trying to get her to smile, but it did not work. She merely rolled over again and groaned some more, "I wish I had."

The sentence was barely audible, but it hit Wen straight to the heart, "Why…why would you say something like that?"

There was no response for a few moments, "Because isn't that what all of you want anyway?"

At this point, Wen wanted to see her face. Much to her chagrin, he turned her over with resistance, but he eventually got her to look at him. She looked broken with her smeared makeup and bloodshot eyes, "Liv, why would you think that? That is so hideously incorrect that it's indescribable."

Her eyes wandered away from his stare to the wall, "I…I don't know. You seemed so angry."

"Only because I was terrified that something awful had happened to you. I was about to scour alleyways and ditches to find you."

"I might have ended up there if you hadn't," she stirred in her place, "because of that girl…"

"That girl was an asshole and so was her stupid boyfriend."

She turned over again, "She was r-right."

Wen wanted to shake her and yell at her about how not right she was, but he thought this may not be the best moment to start yelling again, "Liv, I am so sorry that I yelled at you like that, but you have to know it wasn't because I was angry; I would never want you to feel like I wanted you gone. Please, you light all of us up with your spirit and your annoyingly contagious laugh. The band would not be the same if you weren't there; that's why we couldn't go on without you."

While still not looking at him, she bit her lip, "Really?"

"Of course," Wen smiled.

The two sat there for what felt like a long time before Wen decided that Olivia should probably go to bed, "Come on, let's get you dressed and in bed, okay?"

She breathed in a couple times before she stood up and stumbled to her own drawers, "I can do it."

Wen raised his hands in defeat, and didn't want to watch as she pulled out some pajama pants and put them on under her dress. He glanced at her to make sure she was alright as she was about to unzip the back of her dress when she noticed his stare, "Don't look!"

He turned away, embarrassed. She sounded like a toddler, but she had a point. It's not like anything was going to happen anyway. All he heard were some grunts and sighs of frustration for a bit before Wen cringed and went out on a limb and spoke, "Need some help?" He asked without turning around.

Olivia continued to sound aggravated until she finally spoke, "The stupid zipper is broken. I ruin everything!"

"You do not." Wen stated jokingly as got up without even thinking. He turned to her and put his hands over hers to still them as she gracelessly dropped them to her sides with a huff. It took a minute for Wen to realize what the problem was. The zipper wasn't broken; it just got caught in the fabric of the seam, so all of Olivia's forceful tugs probably did not help.

"Enjoying the show?" She slurred as Wen attempted to get the zipper unstuck from the dress.

Wen shook his head and chuckled a little, "Nothing I've never seen before."

"Wen!" Olivia shouted as she elongated his short name again with the uncanny ability of sounding like a two year old. Drunken Olivia was so much fun.

He finally got the zipper free from the snag as he continued to laugh, "It was a joke blondie."

As he unzipped the rest of the dress and pushed down the shoulders of the sleeves so the clothing fell to the floor, it was then when he saw her exposed back save for her black bra, and he realized just how sensual this probably looked. He suddenly felt awkward and cleared his throat, stepping away from her while he was thankful that she was probably too drunk to notice his sudden trepidation.

"Hey!" She reacted slowly and turned around, stepping out of the dress as she held onto Wen's shoulder to balance herself, "don't test me ginger! Cause I'll come at you! I am the one with the soul, remember?"

Wen shook his head quickly to get his mind back in focus in order to reach the goal: putting clothes on Olivia. He searched the ground for the t-shirt that she had selected to sleep in and picked it up, "Alright, blondie, truce?" He tried to make his voice sound as even as possible.

She noticed that he had the shirt in his hands and raised her arms in the air. Wen took that as initiative to take the nightwear and put it over her head, sliding it down her head, and fitting it to her middle.

Olivia smiled up at him with a look of sheer happiness, "What would I do without my ginge?"

The redhead returned her smile with his own and rubbed the back of his neck, "Well, I may not have a soul, but you are blonde, so you must be pretty airheaded."

He picked her dress off the floor and threw it on the nearest chair, figuring that is what she would do if she were in a more sober state.

She took in his words and giggled, "We make quite the pair then!"

"We certainly do, now come on; you should wash your face. I don't think you want to wake up with tear stains all over it."

After she cleaned up, he tucked her in languidly as she seemed to finally settle down and yawn. He waited a couple minutes to see if she needed anything, but she was soon closing her eyes and getting comfortable. He took that as his queue to leave quietly and shut off the lights. Before he could open the door, she rustled around some more and sat up.

"Hey, ginge?" She asked while squinting from the light.

Wen turned around to face her, "Yes blondie?"

"Will you stay with me again tonight?"

Wen hesitated this time. Last time she was sick, and this time she was drunk. Or did she actually just want his company while she slept? It was unclear, but his words still came out without him really having too much control over them, "Of course. Let me just go change."

When he changed into his own pajamas and returned to Olivia's room, he thought that she was already asleep, but when she turned over to face him as he got into the bed, she whispered to him.

"I'm sorry Wen."

He just looked up at her, even though it was difficult to see her in the darkness. Her eyes were closed and she had a peaceful expression, "It's okay Liv, it really is."

These were probably the last words she heard before she let sleep claim her.


Sometimes Mo liked to wake up before everybody else so she could have time to herself, she enjoyed reading another one of those girly books she had that everybody made fun of her for. When she opened her eyes and turned over the clock read eight o' three. Prefect. No one else would be awake for hours.

Or at least a couple because they had to get going before eleven this morning, so they could start driving to their next location. It was somewhere in Colorado if she remembered correctly, probably Denver.

She looked over at Charlie one more time before she quietly tried not to wake him. While looking at his slumbering face, she wondered how much longer they could keep this a secret. Neither of them really knew why they continued to sneak around, but it was probably to avoid hearing the ridicules and the 'I knew its!' It was also kind of exciting trying not to get caught. Maybe it would last for a little while longer.

While still trying to not wake the drummer, Mo leaned over and kissed his forehead and slowly got out from under the covers. Charlie wasn't exactly a light sleeper, but he wasn't a heavy one either; he was strangely in between. It just depended on how tired he was. She blushed as she thought how tried he should be from last night. Shaking her head, she threw some clothes on that she expertly kept in his room so she would never have to wear last night's clothes or the walk of shame. That wouldn't be cute.

Mo poked her head out of the door to double check if there were any other early risers. Not surprisingly, no one wanted to show their face to the world.

There was an L shaped island in front of the kitchen that she liked to read at in the mornings. Her book was still there. She could finally find out what happened next to the protagonists; they were finally about to kiss! Mo happily sat down with some cereal in a huge cup—a trait that Charlie got her to start doing—and began to encase herself in the world of her novel.

A door creak.

Dammit! Right when she started reading, too. It sounded like it was coming from Olivia's door. Strange, she had a pretty late night from what she figured, so Mo was surprised that she was waking so early. She was even more surprised to find that it was Wen trying to sneak around in the early hours of the morning. Mo had caught him a couple of weeks ago doing the same thing, and he awkwardly made an excuse about him only taking care of her while she was sick. Hadn't he learned his lesson?

She didn't think he noticed her in the kitchen as he attempted to cross the living area, "Why do you keep sleeping in Olivia's room?" She asked without even looking up from her book.

Wen cursed as soon as he heard the bassist's words; he turned in shame, "She was drunk when she came in last night. I don't know; she likes me to be there when she is like that."

Mo rolled her eyes and turned her book over onto the counter and faced him, "So she likes you to be there when she is sick and drunk?"

He shrugged his shoulders, "I guess."

Before Mo could say anything else, another door opened, revealing a disheveled Stella and Liam. They walked over to the counter, and Stella sat unceremoniously on the chair next to Mo as Liam began to search though the fridge. Both of them were wearing matching black rimmed glasses.

Stella grabbed Mo's forgotten cereal and started eating it ravenously. Mo sighed; she would never finish her novel.

Liam handed Stella her own bowl of cereal that he prepared for her, "Babe, don't you want your own instead of eating Mo's?"

Stella glared at him and grabbed the bowl begrudgingly from her boyfriend, sloshing the milk around a bit as she retrieved the food. She turned to Mo and started eating again, "So, what's going on with you guys?"

Mo shook her head at her friends antics, "What are you doing up so early Stell?"

"We have to get up early today so we can leave because I have to take Liam to the airport in a bit before we can go," she stated as she concentrated on her cereal and swallowed, "so just another uneventful morning in Lemonade Mouth's history."

"I caught Wen sneaking out of Olivia's room." Mo stated as she attempted to pick up her book again.

Liam had gotten his own bowl and sat next to Stella while her mouth hung open, revealing some un-chewed cereal. He went to try and close her mouth for her before she spoke up, "Wendell! What would Ms. Bertilak think of all this?"

Wen sighed and planted himself on the couch behind him, "Nothing happened between Olivia and me. I would never, ever do something like that to Lyla. Olivia just didn't want to be alone."

Liam furrowed his eyebrows, "You understand how this would probably look, right?"

Wen put his face in his hands grunted, "Yes, but Lyla is an understanding person. She knows nothing would happen and trusts me."

Somehow, Mo was still trying to read, but put her book down again, knowing it was futile. Didn't Wen understand that he needed to wake up earlier if he was going to try and sneak out of rooms? She was so much better at it.

Stella still was chomping down on her cereal as she finished her last few bites, "Whatever, Wen. We trust you too, but you have to know that it looks super sketch."

"Yeah, I know." He stated quietly as he faced foreword and leaned on his hands.

Stella walked over to the sink and crashed her bowl in the sink before walking back to her room, "Come on babe. We should get going if you want to make your flight in time."

Liam looked down at his cereal and said with his mouth full, "But I'm not done eating!"

"Well eat faster!" Stella shouted from her room.

He just shook his head and tried to scarf down his remaining breakfast and threw is bowl in the sink too. He had just finished up before there was a "Liam!" yelling for him.

"Calm down Stell, Jesus." He said as he entered her room and closed the door.

Mo relished after the couple was gone because that meant she could start reading again. The two emerged from the room a few minutes later, dressed and with Liam's bags. He would come and see Stella randomly throughout the tour, but it was never for very long, only a few days at a time. If he was lucky, a week at the most. He had an internship in a psychologist's office over the summer, and this was apparently was a big deal because only a few graduating students were offered this opportunity to work this closely with patients.

Stella already threw on her large sunglasses and headed for the door, "Wen, where are the keys for the car?"

"There on the counter there." He stated, having not moved.

She searched for a moment and found them, grabbing them with a wave, "Bye guys, be back in a bit."

Mo and Wen turned to face them this time, "Bye guys." Wen said a little unenthusiastically.

"Bye! Good luck with your internship Liam!" Mo shouted as they were exiting.

"Thanks guys! Bye!" He said as Stella was ordering him to move faster as the door closed.

Mo shook her head again at the couple and turned back to her novel. She was able to read like half a page before she heard Wen move next to her. Didn't people know she was trying to concentrate?

"Hey, Mo?"

She tried not to sigh before she put her book down on the counter again, "Yes?"

Mo looked to Wen before she spoke, and he did look like something was eating him up inside, "You don't think that Lyla would be mad at me for sleeping in Olivia's room, do you?"

A romantic at heart, Mo began to feel bad for the redhead. He really always meant well, "Wen, you shouldn't do anything that you can't tell Lyla about. Now, have you done anything that you are ashamed about?"

"Well, no, not exactly…"

"Then you should have nothing to worry about." Mo stated as she turned back to her novel. She didn't tell any of the others about Wen attempting to leave Olivia's room a couple of weeks ago. One could see that he already felt terrible about it, but when it came to the blonde he cared so deeply for, it seemed that nothing else mattered except her happiness.

"You really think so? Because I really do care about Lyla a lot, and I wouldn't want her to think that she can't trust me…and I really didn't do anything that would be considered—"

Mo put her hand on Wen's knee reassuringly to stop his rambling, "I know Wen. I trust you when you say that nothing happened because you really are a trustworthy person. Lyla is lucky to have you."

This finally seemed to seep into Wen's brain because he almost sort of smiled, "Thanks Mo."

She sat up and smiled back, "Good, now get out of here so I can finally read."

Wen saluted her before he stood up and walked to his room, "Yes ma'am."

Absolutely delighted, Mo was actually able to read three chapters before Charlie woke up and started bothering her.


As the tour went along, the band was having quite the time catching up with one another. It was strange to be apart for so long, only to be brought back together at such a magnitude. On the tour bus after a few hours of driving, it felt like nothing had changed, like they were all just naïve teenagers again trying to pass the time.

Wen was pleased to see that Olivia was doing a little better. She was drinking less and seemed genuinely happy. Her smile was back, and she enjoyed writing songs again. Wen was not sure why this change was coming about so nicely, but he chalked it up to her being around so many people that love her, or maybe it was his reassurance he gave her that night he had to go find her in that bar. He couldn't determine that in definite terms, but it was wonderful to see her happy again; hopefully it be more permanent this time, instead of holding onto these happy fleeting moments, as if they were going to disappear.

They had finally settled down in another hotel that was in somewhere in Missouri. Most of them were so tired from the bus ride that they all plopped themselves on the huge couch in the joint living area. Charlie turned on the TV and they all started watching one of those scary movies that was so horrible that it was funny.

"Oh come on!" Stella laughed at the characters on the screen, "this girl is so stupid! This guy is so obviously the killer, and she still wants in his pants! Was it not only five minutes ago that he tried to kill her?"

"It figures." Charlie chuckled.

Stella looked over at him in confusion, "What figures?"

Charlie sat up a little straighter and resisted the urge to put his arm around Mo; right, they were still sneaking around, "That that guy is the killer. He's a ginger. I'm still convinced that they are going to get us all in the night and kill us because they have no souls."

As he was saying this, the killer on the screen was still passionately kissing the girl with blonde hair and dark roots while also trying to maneuver the giant knife he was holding behind his back, "See!" Charlie pointed. It was obviously a stab at Wen.

Another crack at his lack of a soul. Was this catching on? Wen was feigning a dark expression while he slowly turned to Charlie, "And you sir," he said as he leaned in closer to his friend, "will be the first one I come after."

While everyone was laughing at Wen's threat at Charlie, the redhead was still trying to seem composed and not crack a smile. Stella was sprawled out on the end of the couch on her stomach and kicked Wen as she was still for some reason trying to concentrate on the movie, which was now the 'morning after' for the love torn duo. On Wen's other side was Olivia, still intrigued by his morbid gesture, "And when is this going to happen?"

Wen shrugged his shoulders and kept his gaze ahead, "I'm not sure. That is probably what we will be discussing at our next meeting."

Mo looked over at him with a raised brow and a giggle, "You guys have meetings?"

Wen sighed, "Now I've said too much. You all will have to be eradicated."

Just as the redhead said this, the redhead killer on the screen had successfully killed yet another victim, who was one of the fake blonde's best friends. That's going to be awkward when she finds out the killer's identity.

The movie ended on a not surprising cliffhanger as the blonde had reached the end of the woods they were camping at after having to tragically murder the man whom she thought shared her affections, but tragically turned out to be the murderer. There was a dark shadow in the distance behind her as the credits rolled.

Stella sat up and yelled, "I knew it! I knew he was going to come back after she didn't double tap!"

Olivia furrowed her brows, "Double tap?"

"You know, when there is a killer, or a zombie, or anything that can pose as a threat, in order to ensure that fucker won't come after you again, you have to shoot 'em again! Double tap!"

They all mutually agreed after the term was explained to them. Stella admitted to stealing the phrase from the movie Zombieland, but she thought it could apply to many other walks of life. Wen thought it was an interesting concept. It was like kicking someone while he or she was down just to make sure that the person would stay on the ground, whether he or she belonged there or not.


It was just another gig that didn't exactly end on an excellent note. There weren't a lot of people in the small venue, and no one seemed to be that jazzed at the end of the show. Maybe people in Missouri didn't like their style of music. Maybe they were just horrible. These were the thoughts that were circulating through Olivia's mind as they went to the tiny backstage to change and leave for the night. As the blonde began to finish packing for the night, she heard a knock on the door.

"Come in." Olivia called over her shoulder. The person walked in and stood near the door. She wasn't surprised when she turned around to find that it was Wen, "hey…what's up?"

Wen stood there nervously for a few moments before he opened and closed his mouth a couple of times, "I just want to apologize for the other night."

Olivia shot him a confused expression, "Sorry for what?"

"Sorry for really reaming on you. You just seemed so upset, and I still feel bad about yelling at you."

"Wen, really, you don't have to—"

"I overacted, and I am sorry. I was just so worried, and I know that I shouldn't have been because I know that you're an adult, and you probably were not in some ditch somewhere like I imagined."

The statement gave her pause, "Why would you think that I was in a ditch?"

Wen widened his eyes, "Oh, no…it's not that…it's just that you know me…I kind of do unnecessary mental gymnastics and assume the worst."

"Well you don't have to assume about my dead body in some hole on my behalf."

"I never said that I thought you would be dead…"

Olivia raised her eyebrows, "So just the ditch then? Because I can't imagine what I would have been doing to end up in that predicament."

This is not how Wen wanted the conversation to go. He was only digging himself further into his own ironic hole, "I wasn't saying it was a guarantee, alright?"

"So just a possibility because helpless old me can't take of myself?"

This was such a contrast to what drunken Olivia was like; the Olivia that wanted him to sleep in her bed because she didn't want to be alone for God's sake, "Wait, what?"

She didn't know why she was giving him such attitude. It could have been their less than perfect show or Wen's awful timing for an apology and a heart to heart. Or perhaps it was the fact that she hated to think what could have happened to her if he hadn't shown up that night. How would she of even gotten home?

"Nothing Wen. Just don't think that you always have to be checking up on me. I appreciate what you did the other night, but I don't have to be babied by you all the time."

That struck a chord. What about all the other times he has quite literally tucked her in and made sure she was safe? How many times had he helped her inebriated ass? Was she not thankful for his efforts on other junctures? He was only doing it because he cared for her.

"Okay…so does this mean that you don't want me to help you at all when you're in need of assistance?"

Olivia scoffed and crossed her arms, "Who said that I would need it?"

Their voices were getting louder now and angrier. How did they get here?

Wen laughed for a second, "Well if the past couple of months have been any indication—"

"As I recall, I never asked for your help."

Wen did not like this Olivia. It was the same kind of hostility that she was showing him their…'morning after' they hooked up. Not that she even remembered, or at least that is what she claimed when she was sober, "I know you didn't, but I was worried about you. I still am worried about you."

He didn't mean to state that last part. He didn't want to make her drinking tendencies to be laid out on the table like that, like it was finally brought out as a problem now.

"Why are you worried about me?"

Oh, shit. Wen sighed, "Liv, I don't want to overshoot my boundaries or anything, but you certainly have been drinking a lot and—"

"We've all been drinking!"

"Not like you have!"

Olivia had never looked more offended, "Well excuse me if I am trying to have a little bit of fun every once in a while."

"I don't care if you have fun; I just care if you are safe!"

"Well excuse me Wendell, if anyone should be worried about anyone, it should be me."

Wen opened his mouth to say something, but upon what Olivia said, he let it stay agape with furrowed eyebrows for a few moments, "What the hell are you talking about?"

"Oh please Wen, over this whole tour it seems like someone crawled up your ass and died. When did you get to be so self-righteous?"

Wen didn't even know what to say. He was so angry he was beginning to tremble, "Olivia, why would you say something like that?"

"You just go around with your girlfriend, and when she is not here all you do is mope! And now you have the audacity to tell me that I have a problem? Fuck you!"

And there it was. All the aggression that she had pent up over these last few years. Now he was getting the brunt of it; he was through, "You know what Olivia? Fuck you too!"

He didn't even want to see her reaction as he turned around and slammed the door. Stella was standing near the door awkwardly trying to look away. Great, everyone probably heard their fight. It wasn't a very large venue, and all of their dressing rooms were quite close to each other.

Wen just needed to get out of there. He left out the back door with Stella chasing after him. It didn't matter if he had to take a cab or what to leave the premises, all that mattered was that he was far away from Olivia. How dare she say he was self-righteous when all he ever did for her was look after her and make sure she was alright, and this is what she does in return? He didn't know who this person was anymore. The old Olivia was dead.


Oh wow, that was pretty heavy-handed, wasn't it? I know all of you must hate me now, but I have seriously had the second part of this story brainstormed out for like a year, including this fight. Now I just have to write it!

Sorry if this was depressing, but I promise it won't be forever. With the way these two have been going back and forth, they were bound to fight sometime.

Shout outs to HannahbananaJane (your review was so sweet! It really made my day!) and Blanche Dubois (your review also made me happy; thanks for your encouragement!) for reviewing. I really appreciate all those who are still hanging in there and those who added this to their favorites or follows.

Please review! It makes me feel wonderful to know that you guys have been enjoying my story!

-stirringthesky